


A Second Sunrise

by phendrifts



Series: phendrifts' Xenotober 2020 [3]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon, Xenoblade Chronicles Spoilers, no beta we die like men, sequel to a sunrise in the park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26807332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phendrifts/pseuds/phendrifts
Summary: Shulk and Fiora spend a night on a certain hill in New Colony 9. (Day 3 - Daybreak)
Relationships: Fiora/Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)
Series: phendrifts' Xenotober 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947715
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21
Collections: Xenotober 2020





	A Second Sunrise

The once dreary hill looking over New Colony 9 had (with a persistent Fiora’s help,) blossomed into a beautiful vista just a small walk away from the residential district. The ever-sentimental Dunban thought it only right to name it ‘Outlook Park’, in commemoration of a distant memory that was dear to his heart. 

And it was also at Outlook Park where Shulk and Fiora found themselves in the dead of the night, laying next to each other on a picnic blanket as the stars of the new world shined above them. 

It was Shulk’s idea, to the girl’s surprise. Shulk had never been one for the simple things: he almost never made the plans to spend time with Reyn and Fiora, but he would be happy to tag along whenever he was asked. He wasn’t short on work in this new world either; and once more he became the quiet studious boy tinkering for hours in the colony lab. So, when he asked for Fiora to accompany him to Outlook Park, she was happy to oblige.

“So,” Fiora turned over to face Shulk. “What’s the special occasion? I hate to admit it, but I know there has to be some reason why you called me out here.” 

“Oh, well, I…” Shulk scratched his head. “Do I have to have a reason? I like spending time with you, that’s all.”

Fiora giggled. “You’re a really bad liar, you know? There’s nothing you can say that can get past me.”

“Okay, okay, I give.” 

“So, come on, what’s  _ actually _ on your mind, Shulk?” 

“I don’t know if you remember, it’s been a long time. I’d say about a year or two ago, we were right here.” Shulk tapped the picnic blanket. “Well, not  _ here, _ exactly, but--”

“In Outlook Park? Yes, I do remember that day.” Fiora turned back to face the sky. “That was when that Mechon debris fell from the sky, didn’t it? Wow, that was so long ago, Shulk. We didn’t know it then, but that’s when things were about to start changing.” 

“Yeah. But, um, that’s not why I called you here. Not to think about the Mechon invasion, but what we talked about in the park that day. About that time you and Dunban had a big falling out, and…” 

“And we stayed up till dawn in the park? Of course I remember that. It was a very special night to me.” Fiora grinned. “I can’t believe you remembered that from that long ago. I’d be almost certain that you’ve forgotten by now.” 

Shulk sat up, crossing his legs. “So, I just thought maybe we could have another night like that, here, tonight. I remember we stayed up late talking about our hopes, and our dreams… It’s been a long time since then, and a lot has changed.” 

“It has, hasn’t it.” the Homs girl raised a hand towards the stars, tracing a constellation at her fingertips. “Well, why don’t you go first, Shulk? Do you remember about your hopes and dreams from the future?” 

“Haha, a lot of it was just about machines.” Shulk scratched his head, embarrassed. “I wanted to make a machine that could do anything for me. Read, write, talk… I thought that, as long as I had the right materials, I could create anything I wanted.” 

“That still sounds pretty possible, if you ask me. The High Entia and Machina have put together some really amazing technology. I’m sure that if you ask them, they could try to make something to fulfill that dream.” 

“I have no doubt in my mind, either- but that’s not much of a dream, is it?” The boy laughed. “It was all silly stuff like that.”

“That’s not true. I bet you just forgot a lot about that night. I remember you said you wanted to be a historian, collecting info about everywhere on Bionis. Like Dickson did. ‘If people made it, then it’s not impossible to figure out.’ That jog your memory?” 

“Oh! Yeah, now that you mention it. I had completely forgotten. The world outside our colony seemed so mysterious back then. Ruins that we had not the foggiest idea who built, machines built to ward off against an unknown enemy. There was a lot I was curious about.”

“I knew you’d remember eventually. Guess that big head of yours doesn’t retain  _ everything _ .” 

“It was over 7 years ago!” 

The two laughed, and continued talking through the night. It was comforting to have nothing hanging over such a simple conversation. For just those short hours, the world was nothing more than the two bantering in the light of the moon. Time passed in the blink of the eye, and Shulk and Fiora could both feel their eyes getting heavy a long while later.

“Hey, Shulk?” 

“Mmmm?” He responded, barely above a whisper. He rested the back of his head in his hands as he laid back peacefully. 

“Do you remember that really embarrassing thing that I said back then?” 

“Hmm… I remember you said the same thing when we talked about it before… but I’m afraid it’s slipped my mind. Won’t you tell me what it is? I’ll just…” Shulk yawned. “I’m just gonna rest my eyes for a second.” 

Fiora glanced down for a second at the boy, then turned away quickly. “Oh, well it’s just that… Okay, I might have said that I wanted to marry you.” 

The silence hung in the air, but Fiora quickly felt her face burn brighter than the sun. She continued quickly before Shulk could say anything. “It’s embarrassing, I know. I was glad you forgot, honestly, I would be mortified if you didn’t. But…” Fiora curled her knees up to her chest. “I kinda wanted you to remember some day, you know? I guess now’s a good time to tell you more than any.” 

Shulk was, once again, silent. 

Fiora traced circles on the ground next to her with a steady finger, still feeling her face heat up. “To be honest, Shulk, I think… I think I still feel the same way.” 

A snore startled Fiora out of her train of thought, as she peered over the boy sleeping next to her. 

“Oh, you never change, do you, Shulk? Though I guess you’re the one falling asleep early, this time…”

The sun broke out over the horizon across from them as Fiora stretched out onto the picnic blanket beneath her, staring at the peaceful boy who had fallen asleep across from her. 

“Sleep well, Shulk. It was nice to spend this time with you again.”

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to a friend of mine who loves fiora more than i do. so sorry if this is unintelligible i wrote this in a flu-shot induced fever dream


End file.
